Taking Risks

In Being stuck is reasonable from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin shares,

“If you truly want to get unstuck, if you want to move to higher ground or do something more worthwhile, the first question to ask is, ‘Am I willing to be unreasonable, at least for a while?’”

It is hard for me to take risks. I like to follow the well-worn path that others have taken, and it doesn’t require too much energy. Let’s face it, I’m basically lazy.

But sometimes I decide to take a risk and do something unreasonable.

When I decided to write a book, everyone worried that it might be a scam. I took a chance and wrote it and it was a wonderful experience. At the time, everyone worried that I was taking a big risk and wasting my time.

I am in the middle of setting up an online course for Furman. I had experienced friends who told me to stay away from doing this, but I took the risk. I had never done this before, and I was curious. At least now I will have the experience and if I decide to do this again if asked, I will be able to make an informed decision.

When we are hiking, sometimes my husband will be curious to see where an unknown path is going. I am a little skeptical about going somewhere I don’t know but he is the adventurous one and we go on our new adventure. Usually, it ends up somewhere wonderful.

This is a really hard concept for students because many times they have faced so many failures when they try something new. I try to explain to them that they should consider these situations as opportunities and not failures. If they haven’t tried something new and taken a risk, they would not grow as a person. They would never find out if they like something they haven’t tried before. They might find something exciting that they love but would never have known if they hadn’t tried.

Even if it feels a little unreasonable to try something new, I think that if it doesn’t risk bodily harm or financial ruin, it is worth trying if I want to do it.

How do you feel about taking risks? How do you get your students to take risks? Please share.

Photo by Valentín Betancur on Unsplash

Taking Risks

In 7 Ways to Be a Stronger, More Productive Risk Taker from @DavidGeurin Blog, David Geurin asks,

“What risks are you willing to take this year? How will you push yourself out of your own comfort zone?”

I have to confess that I’m not a risk taker. I like things to be comfortable and it is easy for me to get into a rut.

Thankfully my husband is more of a risk taker and has to be patient with me when I am out of my comfort zone. Since I know I have this problem, I try to push myself to take more risks.

Here are some of the things I’ve done to push myself:

·      I make yearly goals and post it in my blog to hold myself accountable.

·      I try to pick one thing for the year that I want to do but I’ve been afraid to try.

·      When I really dig my heels in, I have to stop and think about what would be the worse thing that could happen and how I would cope with the challenge.

·      Try to see negative possibilities as challenges rather than catastrophes.

Risks I’ve taken this year:

·      Envelope art – I’ve always been intimidated with art because my oldest sister and my father were great with art.

·      Designing knitting patterns – It is really scary to send the pattern to test knitters because it makes you feel very vulnerable.

·      Travel without making hotel reservations – I always feel antsy about this but I understand why my husband doesn’t like to commit due to weather or moods that can change quickly.

Risks I am willing to take this year:

·      Talking to a publisher about a book deal – I don’t know what to expect. It is scary but I’m curious since they contacted me.

·      I’d like to try to publish my children’s book and will work harder on finding a publisher.

·      I am having a lot of trouble with this. I’m not sure what risks I want to take and sometimes I don’t realize it until it is right in front of me. I don’t realize it is a risk until I feel anxious about deciding about something.

What risks have you taken? What risks would you like to take? How do you push yourself? Please share.

Photo by Katika Bele on Unsplash

Old Dog

In I'm an Old Dog...from Sioux's Page, Sioux asks,

“Do you consider yourself an old dog or a new one? What sort of things are you trying or planning on trying soon?”

I always thought I was more of a new dog and willing to try new technology and strategies. I usually tried to buy the new stuff out there and was one of the first ones to get them when they hit the market.

This past year I notice that I’m turning more into an old dog.

Finances are more of an issue now than in the past so I tend to be more watchful of the things I buy. I struggle over whether the use of something is cost efficient or not. Since I only work part time now instead of full time, I don’t always have the resources to buy things without willing to risk the outcomes.

I also have had more failures this year than in the past. I’ve bought a few things that I haven’t been able to get to work so I’m more cautious. We bought some security cameras that I’m supposed to be able to connect by wifi and see when we are not at home. But I haven’t been able to get them to work and finally gave up. I know it is user error but the instructions are in a foreign language and there is no tech support.

I have had some technical issues with our computers that I have been unable to sort out and we have limped along this past year. My laptop has had to be restored twice and I don’t know what happened so I can’t keep it from happening again. My hubby’s computer (my old hand me down) is awfully slow and won’t update. I hold my breath every time we have to restart his and pray it will start again. This difficulty has made me more unsure of my ability to do things and now I’m almost afraid to try new stuff.

This reminds me of a time when I was a younger hiker. I was willing to go long distances and never feared that something could happen. Now that I’m older (and thinking I’m much more wiser), I don’t want to go too far, think about what could happen, and fear that I could fall and break some bones. This is limiting my hiking adventures and I hope this upcoming year and I can reverse this trend.

I wish I could regain my confidence and bravery. I was willing to try new stuff and didn’t ever think that I couldn’t do something. I need to change my attitude and get back to being more of a new dog!!

What are you? Are you an old dog or new dog? Please share.

Image: 'DockDog'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/81881849@N00/14629524174
Found on flickrcc.net